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Ecocentric Blog ]

Dawn Brighid

Dawn Brighid is project director of the food program's Eat Well Guide. Her focus is to find and highlight sustainable vendors and to share their hard work and dedication through the guide in order to empower consumers to make better food choices. Dawn also regularly contributes to Ecocentric with a focus on health and nutrition. Dawn has a MS in Nutrition and Integrative Health from Maryland University of Integrative Health, a BS in Business Marketing from San Jose State University, and a certificate in health counseling from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Doug Lipton and his wife, Cindy Daniel, moved to Healdsburg almost 20 years ago to start a farm. Recently, Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle asked, "Is Shed the Best Restaurant in Sonoma County?" What an amazing journey they have been on.

We recently spoke with Marcy Coburn - the passionate Executive Director of the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), based in San Francisco. Marcy has played a pivotal role in bringing sustainable agriculture and food issues into the mainstream, both nationally and statewide.

One of the best things about a road trip is road trip food. If you are a junk food junkie, that means fast food chains in eight different states! But at some point a person needs something a little...healthier, greener and more sustainable.

When you think about it, a summer cookout spread is often almost vegetarian. Favorites include many meat-free options - like potato salad, deviled eggs, pasta salad, fruit salad, desserts and more. We know that Homer Simpson said, "You don't win friends with salad," but we are here to boldly disagree with him!

According to Chef Deborah Scarborough, former chef of Cambria, California's Black Cat Bistro, it's just common sense to use local ingredients - not only is it more sustainable, "the better the ingredients, the better the dish will turn out."

Easter is coming soon, and if you celebrate, there is a good chance that part of your day will include egg decorating, hiding and gathering. Which sounds like fun - but what will you do with all those eggs once your basket is full? We've got some tips and recipes to help you use up every last egg!

"We cultivate strong relationships with local farmers... making it possible to source more than 70 percent of the restaurant's foodstuffs within a 60 mile radius." Meet Chef Vivian Howard, who opened Chef & the Farmer in 2006, and has been showcasing the foods and traditions of rural North Carolina ever since.

Meet one of our Eat Well Guide heroes: Chef Lyn Harwell at Seeds Community Café in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You probably can't be in the presence of the Seeds family for more than ten minutes without hearing the words "sustainable" or "local," or, for that matter, "organic" and "fresh"!

Meet one of our Eat Well Guide heroes: Trish Watlington at The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar in San Diego, where the cuisine is seasonal comfort food made with one commitment: if they can't grow it themselves or buy it locally, humanely treated and sustainably harvested, it's not hitting the table.

It's March, and with farmers' market season right around the corner, it's a wonderful time to celebrate National Nutrition Month. Even better: This year's theme is "savoring the flavor of eating right," which we think is easy to do by eating locally and seasonally.

When you think about Super Bowl 50, you're probably wondering how many times Cam Newton will dab. But have you thought about the collective impact that 70,000+ people crammed in one place will have on the environment? Thankfully, the big game is being held in Levi's Stadium, one of the most sustainable sports venues in the country.

The FDA has approved the first-ever genetically engineered (GE) animal - salmon - for sale in the US. The salmon, developed by AquaBounty Technologies, a synthetic biology company, is engineered to put on weight faster than their non-engineered counterparts.

Everyone has something to say about food these days. Food is fun, complicated, delicious, nutritious, processed, whole and an all-around hot topic. Here is a roundup of some of our favorite food, agriculture and food policy blogs to keep you up-to-date.